The new Maserati Ghibli is a premium saloon, based on the same root architecture as the Quattroporte, that’s designed to rival the BMW 5-series. Maserati’s slick new 2014 Ghibli gets driven. Slightly more than just a baby Quattroporte.
Test 1 diesel
What is it?
This is Maserati’s glamorous alternative to the BMW 5-series. It’s the first time the luxury sports car maker has offered a car in this class, although this is not the first Ghibli, the most recent predecessor being a startlingly fast 306bhp 2.0-litre Biturbo-based two door that dazzled briefly in the early ‘90s.
Before that, the Ghibli was an exotic, front-engined V8, late-1960s supercar. Three very different animals then, and the latest bearer of the name owes little to this haphazard bloodline except that all three cars are resolutely sporting, and flaunt lavish and classily flamboyant interiors.
Instead, the latest Ghibli is a very close relative of the just-launched and larger Quattroporte saloon. They share the same root architecture, drivelines, suspension and indeed, the same production line. They differ in looks – no two exterior panels are the same, the Ghibli is almost a foot shorter, slightly wider and besides its bespoke cab-rear proportioning bears its own sculptural character. And inside, there’s a more driver-biased dashboard design.
Nevertheless Maserati has a challenge here, in developing a car of more distinctive and more sporting character using the same engines, transmissions and suspension, but without tempting prospective Quattroporte owners into thinking that they might as well spend less money to get a car that in essence, is the same.
The Ghibli offers three engines and two drivelines, the range beginning with a rear-drive 3.0-litre petrol twin-turbo V6 developing 326bhp. Above that sits the Ghibli S with the same 404bhp twin turbo version of the V6 recently debuted in the Quattroporte, this engine available either with rear or four-wheel drive – although disappointingly the latter will not be available in the UK.
The most unusual offering, in a Maserati context, is a 271bhp 3.0 V6 turbodiesel that’s an essential weapon if the Modenese marque is to boost its sales from well under 10,000 units to 50,000.
All Ghiblis come with an eight-speed paddle-shift ZF transmission, multilink rear suspension and double wishbones up front, Maserati’s electronically controlled Skyhook dampers, a limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes and hydraulically assisted steering. And all benefit from 50:50 weight distribution, a model-for-model kerb weight 50kg lighter than the Quattroporte and a 0.31 drag coefficient.
What is it like?
Listen to it kick-off from outside, and the Ghibli diesel has a slightly maritime sound to it. But if you’re inside you hear none of this, the silence instead broken by a low hum. And in the powertrain’s normal mode this hum rises smoothly, but rarely turns penetrating.
It’s not quite as sweet as BMW’s best but it’s civil, and with some subtly sporting rort too. Now press the sport button beside the gearlever, accelerate hard from 1000rpm in second and, after a pause while the revs wind to 1800rpm, you’ll hear a deep-chested, swelling back-beat. Thank Maserati’s Active Sound system for this, a pair of noise actuators heightening the desirable elements of the diesel’s tune.
You’ll want to leave the Ghibli in this mode, because the engine feels unexpectedly indolent in normal mode, despite its fat 443lb ft of torque, which spools from a not-quite-low-enough 2000rpm through to 2600rpm. In sport the diesel pulls with a fair bit of verve – if rather less than the lively 325bhp petrol – to produce a distinctly brisk 6.3sec 0-62mph sprint.
This pace is not wasted when you chance on some bends. The Maserati feels secure, and with its variable-ratio steering plunges into bends with encouraging zeal. Turn the ESP off, pull yourself a lower gear via an aluminium paddle shift, deep-dip the throttle and the Ghibli’s tail will perform a satisfying arc through a curve, and straighten itself with admirable tidiness, too.
Though in the wet we suspect the Maser’ may swing like a church bell at midnight. Steering feel? Well it feels real and it’s consistently weighted too, if over-heavy in sport at a cruise. And yes, you can sense something of what the fat front rubber is doing when you charge hard.
The Ghibli’s weak link is its ride, which is very variable, and not only because it can be tautened via a damper button on the centre console. Sharp-edged ridges and shallow potholes cause audible agitation as the suspension patters with effort, while camber changes on hard-charged straights produce a slightly wayward feeling.
On sharply undulating roads, the Ghibli falls well short of mustering the body control exerted by an XF or a 5-series. Yet at other times the Maserati feels as stable and civilised as the ambience of its richly upholstered cabin.
It’s hard to resist the allure of the interior, too. Finely tooled leather, subtly deployed aluminium and wood highlights, supportively sumptuous seats and excellent air-con make long journeys a pleasing prospect. Better still, ergonomic flaws are few and trifling (the row of buttons flanking the gearlever could be easier to read, for instance) and there’s plentiful room up front and decent room in the rear.
Should I buy one?
All-new executive class entries are rare. And it’s a big ask to expect this Maserati Ghibli to match the polished excellence of the 5-series, E-class and XF first time out. In a few areas, such as ride and high speed body control, it doesn’t.
The Ghibli also seems to be a bit of your Italian heart-over-head car. Its muscularly alluring style, aristocratic bearing, classily sumptuous cabin and outright performance are all serious tempters. So is the simple fact that it’s fresh and the compromises so often imposed by Italian cars are less severe.
The numbers turned by its diesel (including its 158g/km of CO2) are highly competitive if not quite class-best. Its performance is engagingly and subtly thunderous, if sometimes languid in the delivery. And the Ghibli has few practical flaws, besides succeeding in its quest to be a sportier drive than the Quattroporte. It is, however, a bit pricey compared to its more commonplace competition.
The one significant worry is its ride, which might just turn out to be a bit busy for Britain’s 3D roads. Otherwise, the Ghibli has to be the most stylish, desirable and exciting executive debut in years.
Maserati Ghibli Diesel
Price £48,830; 0-62mph 6.3sec; Top speed 155mph; Economy 47.9mpg; CO2 158g/km; Kerbweight 1835kg; Engine V6, turbocharged, diesel, 2987cc; Power 271bhp at 4000rpm; Torque 443lb ft from 2000-2600rpm; Gearbox 8-spd automatic
Test 2 diesel
Verdict
As Porsche and now Maserati has proved, diesel models do have a place in sporty brands. This Ferrari-built 3.0 V6 isn’t the most powerful or cleanest engine in the class, but it fulfils its brief. Setup the chassis for comfort and the Ghibli is the perfect tool for covering motorway miles, but when the road opens up it’s engaging to drive fast. Factor in good looks, the allure of that badge and a price that dips below the £50,000 mark and the Ghibli is definitely the right car for Maserati right now.
The new Maserati Ghibli marks a significant milestone for the company. It’s never had two four-door saloons on sale at the same time and, more importantly, it’s the first Maserati to be offered with a diesel engine. Purists will be cringing at the thought, but the business case is clear; Maserati wants to sell 50,000 cars a year by 2015 (it sold less than 7,000 in 2012), and if you want to shift a BMW 5 Series sized saloon in Europe, a diesel is a must.
Based on the a shrunken version of the new Quattroporte’s steel and aluminium platform, the Ghibli is 291mm shorter, with a 173mm shorter wheelbase, and weighs 50kg less at 1,835kg. It also shares the Quattroporte suspension architecture and turbocharged V6 petrol engine (designed by Maserati but built by Ferrari at its factory in Maranello), available with either 325bhp or 404bhp. But it’s the 271bhp 3.0 V6 diesel we’re concentrating on here.
Push the starter button and there’s no flamboyant flair of revs, just a typical muted hum from under the bonnet. Slot the eight-speed ZF gearbox into ‘D’ and the Ghibli wafts down the road gliding over bumps in near silence like a luxury limousine, not a sports saloon. Squeeze the throttle and there’s a surge of acceleration, but it never revs with the aggression of a BMW six-cylinder diesel and runs out of puff much sooner.
However, the Ghibli has a trick up its sleeve. Push the Sport button and a pair of sound actuators located near the quad exhausts add a bassy petrol V8-style rumble right throughout the rev range. It might be synthetic, but it brings the driving experience to life. To take things even further switch the skyhook adaptive dampers to their firmer setting, take manual control of the gearbox, and immediately the car feels more alive.
Although the gearbox can occasionaly heistate on downshifts, it’s reponds crisply as you move up through the ratios. The variable ratio steering, which increases its effect on the front wheels the more lock you apply, can be frustrating (at first you’ll add too much lock, and having to wind some off mid-corner), but once you’ve got the hang of it, it adds stability and high speeds and means you don’t have to cross your hands around hairpins.
With a relatively narrow powerband, you quickly learn to drive the car not with the throttle pinned, letting the engine rev out, but on part throttle, shortshifting and making use of the immense mid-range torque. Do so, and you can make seriousy swift progress, helped by the Ghibli’s neutral balance in the corners and lots of lateral grip. Drive like a hooligan and it is possible to break traction at the rear, but the car responds better to smooth, controlled inputs.
It’s not just the Quattroporte’s mechanicals that the Ghibli shares, there’s a more than a hint of its bigger brother in the way it looks. Both cars feature strong creases over the rear wheelarch, a full-width lower grille and a trio of square holes punched in the flanks. To set them apart, the Ghibli gets a much shorter rear overhang, a more angular front grille and slimmer headlights. It doesn’t have the immediate jaw-dropping beauty of the GranTurismo coupe, but it’s certainly more captivating to look at than than any of the German competition.
It’s a similar story inside, where all the major components such as the dials, steering wheel and gearlever are shared with the Quattroporte. The Ghibli’s arrangement is more driver focused though and feels sportier thanks to a chunky metal surround for the central touchscreen. The quality is excellent and there are some lovely touches, such as the elongated metal paddles that feel expensive on your fingertips and operate with a satisfying click.
In the back, a six-foot passenger will just about fit behind a six-foot driver, and the 500-litre boot looks large, but actually trails the 5 Series by 20-litres. You can forgive the Ghibli for not being the biggest car in its class, because the bottom line is you can now have a Maserati that drives with panache, returns nearly 50mpg and is yours for £48,830. That’s £4,780 more than a BMW 530d M Sport Auto, but given the exclusivity of the Maserati badge it’s a premium plenty of buyers will be prepared to pay.
Key specs
Price: £48,830
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel
Transmission: eight-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power/torque: 271bhp/600Nm
0-62mph: 6.3 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Economy: 47.9mpg
CO2: 158g/km
Equipment: Sat-nav, climate control, cruise control, leather upholstery, electric seats, stop-start
On sale: Now
Test 3 petrol
This is Maserati’s answer to the Mercedes CLS and Audi A7, a midsize sports sedan that’s the core part of a ballsy plan to go from producing 6000 cars in 2012 to 50,000 in 2015.
Loosely based on Maserati’s new, much larger Quattroporte luxury sedan, it comes with a two different V6s, a 345 hp version with rear-drive, and as the S Q4 with four-wheel drive and 404 hp. There’s also a diesel for Europe, but it won’t be coming here yet. We’ve driven it and you’re not missing much.
That Ghibli name sound familiar? It’s been used before, first on a pretty front-engined GT in the 1960s, then on another square-edged V6 coupe in the wilderness years of the 1990s.
Do yourself a favor and find the extra $10k for the Q4S. The basic 345 hp Ghibli posts 0-62 mph in 5.6 sec, but only really delivers the goods in the upper half of the rev range. It’s not just the SQ4’s 0.8 sec advantage that’s so appealing either, but its effortless mid-range performance too.
And far from being a killjoy, the S Q4’s rear-biased four-wheel drive system only sends enough torque to the front axle to make you feel like a hero. Both cars have a 50:50 weight distribution and feel sweetly balanced; both have hydraulic steering that’s heavy but only moderately talkative; and both have a ride that can get caught out with sharp ridges.
The Skyhook adaptive dampers are optional with both engines, but the standard passive setup is close to Skyhook with the sport button pressed, so only shell out if you need the extra comfort, not better handling.
You just know Maserati is holding the best stuff back for now, like the 523 hp V8 from the Quattroporte that will eventually make an AMG rival of the Ghibli.
The Maserati name might sound exotic, but to succeed in this market, the Ghibli has to get the sensible stuff right, too. So interior room up front is strong, and passengers in the back get a much better deal than those in a Mercedes CLS when it comes to headroom.
Standard equipment includes leather trim, reversing camera and an eight-speed ZF automatic, while extended leather trim, adaptive dampers, 19, 20 and 21in wheels, a 1280w Bowers and Wilkins sound system, and even electrically adjustable pedals are just waiting to be plucked from the options list. One of the best touches in the car is the huge gearshift paddles made from real metal, not some cheap plastic facsimile. Yes, we’re looking at you Jag.
One option not on the list but probably worth lobbying your dealer for is a bulkhead-foam delete checkbox. Both engines make a great noise, just not enough of it. You can’t help but feel that people watching from the sidewalk are getting a better deal.
The Ghibli is an interesting attempt to break the German stranglehold on the premium car market. Is it the best car in its class? No, but it’s a serious contender, and it has soul, that unquantifiable quality that has traditionally helped Italian carmakers part fools from their money. This time though, the rest of the package is strong enough that being a fool is not a prerequisite.
Ghibli: 2979cc 24v twin-turbo V6
Horsepower: 345 hp
Torque: 369 lb-ft
0-60 : 5.6 sec
Ghibli S: 2979cc 24v twin-turbo V6
Horsepower: 404 hp
Torque: 406 lb-ft
0-60: 4.8 sec
